MotoGP – Valencia – Pedrosa: "Yes, I rightly let Nicky pass"

His race was rather colorless, but Dani was the perfect partner. First he let Nicky pass, then he slowed down the group to let him gain a margin, when Melandri and Capirossi also passed him, Dani slowed down again, to act as a stopper for Rossi. Only after hearing about Rossi's crash did he think about his race, managing to finish in fourth place. What are you saying? Will he be able to make up for the Estoril mistake?

“I am very happy with this result: for me, for Nicky and for the team. The Repsol Honda Team has won everything that could be won in this championship; the drivers' championship, the constructors' championship, the team and the “rookie of the year” and this is very nice for all of us. I think we did a little work today. I left and calmed down waiting for Nicky to catch up with me. When they told me that I was second and he was third, I let him pass. I showed him with my foot where to pass me, then I slowed down to give Nicky some space between him and third. Then Melandri and Capirossi passed me but only Capirossi managed to catch Hayden. At that moment I thought Rossi was behind me, so I lowered the speed every lap to make sure Nicky could escape. At a certain point they told me from the wall that Rossi had fallen and when I saw him I started to accelerate again. I tried to pass Melandri and Stoner, but it wasn't easy at all. I was able to gain a bit of an advantage, but the tires were at their limit and there was a lot of distance between me and Melandri, so I decided not to accelerate again in the last five laps and take home the race"

Marika Farinazzo